The “Halo” franchise is a juggernaut. Since the release of the first game in 2001, more than 34 million copies of “Halo” games have been sold worldwide, and more than 2 billion hours have been spent playing the games on Xbox Live. “Halo” even holds a Guinness world record as the No. 1 game series of all time.

“Halo: Reach,” released last week as the final chapter in a partnership of game studio Bungie and Microsoft, faced high expectations — and it more than meets them.

“Reach” retains the series’ solid game mechanics and level design, adds a few exciting twists and turns, and is polished to a beautiful and shiny finish. It’s one of the most fully featured packages in the history of video gaming — a fitting climax for a decade of work.

The main trilogy focused on the adventures of Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced human supersoldier who helps save humanity by battling the Covenant, an alliance of alien races who seek to activate a collection of ancient and long-abandoned space stations shaped like rings and known as Halo. While they believe the rings will offer enlightenment, they fail to realize that they are really weapons of mass destruction. As a prequel to the trilogy, “Halo: Reach” not only works, but bests the previous installments.

You play as Noble 6 on an elite team of soldiers known as Spartans who make a heroic final stand on Planet Reach, humanity’s last line of defense against a ruthless alien army. It’s a mesmerizing tale of destruction and the most compelling story of the entire series.

Newcomers shouldn’t worry if they haven’t played the other “Halo” games. This one stands on its own. But for fans of the earlier games, “Reach” offers more insight into the overall “Halo” canon.

The new characters are all likable and will no doubt soon be fan favorites. The story starts slowly but quickly escalates as a gripping sci-fi drama full of stunning environments and epic space battles.

You’ll find a lot of tried-and-true staples in the Halo universe — big battlefields, lots of weapons, huge vehicles, tons of aliens to fight, all accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. The final portion of the game is an explosive thrill ride and the ending feels fulfilling and complete.

One of the best new additions to the game is “armor abilities.” These temporary perks include jet packs and invincible armor for your character. The result is a faster, more dynamic game.

Also new is something called “player investment.” Everything you do, such as play the story mode or compete online, earns credits. Collect enough and you can unlock customization features to change your armor and attain new abilities. Each new change carries through all modes in the game, even the movie sequences between chapters.

Additionally, Xbox Live members can take part in daily or weekly challenges created by Bungie. The studio hopes to entice players to come back again and again to prove their skills.

While some players will stop after finishing the story mode, most will likely spend months online in many other modes, such as one of the best-ever multiplayer modes. The number of modes, and potential for fun is almost endless. It’s simple to hop in and edit any or all of the rules in multiplayer games. Very few other games can compete with this level of polish, presentation and attention to detail.

Also returning in a bigger and better way are the Firefight and Forge modes. In Firefight, players take on increasingly fierce waves of enemies in a game of survival, while Forge is an editing tool for players to create and share new levels online.

The biggest criticism I have with “Reach” is that despite all the upgrades in the graphics, there are still moments that disappoint. Interlaced with some jaw-dropping set pieces are some very pedestrian, and forgettable places.

But overall, “Reach” is an incredible offering that outshines most other titles. It’s a great swan song for Bungie’s involvement with the franchise. I recommend that you add this to your video game collection today.

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